adultery

UK/əˈdʌltəɹi/US/əˈdʌltəɹi/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,989 of 15,258neutral

Adultery is sex between a married person and somebody not their partner. Commit adultery, accused of adultery, adultery as grounds.

It was a ground for divorce in England until the law moved to no fault in 2022, and the definition was narrow enough that it applied only between a man and a woman. It remains a crime in a number of countries.

Definitions of adultery

1nounadulterySex between a married person and somebody not their partner.B2+
“Her husband's adultery ended their marriage after twenty years.”

adultery is an act.

Where it comes from

Latin adulterium comes from adulter, an adulterer, from ad plus alter, another.

Proto-Indo-European
*h₂el- (other)
Latin
adulterium
English, today
adultery

Built from

adultere · Old French — violation of conjugal faith

With change of suffix, from the Old French - adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), a learnèd borrowing from Latin adulterium, from adulterō. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the inherited Old French - forms avouterie or aoulterie, while keeping its suffix. Compare French adultère (“adultery”). Displaced Old English ǣwbryċe. Not related to adult.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

adultery in the wild

In countries where adultery is still a criminal offense, punishments range from a fine to caning and even capital punishment.
Adultery
Even in jurisdictions with no-fault divorce, adultery may still be a factor in property settlement and the award or denial of alimony.
Adultery
During the Republican era, marriage, divorce and adultery were matters dealt with by the families concerned.
Marriage in ancient Rome
The law meant women would not be jailed if they were unable to prove rape and their complaints of rape would not be seen as confession of adultery.
Women's Protection Bill
Rembrandt shows the episode of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery from the Gospel of Saint John.
The Woman Taken in Adultery (Rembrandt)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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